officials in pyongyang have ratcheted up their threats. they're advising all foreigners working in and visiting south korea to leave. workers at the fukushima daiichi nuclear plant have reported another setback. they say a third tank for storing radioactive water may have a leak. welcome to nhk world "newsline." north korean officials have made more threats after weeks of them in a broadcast on state media. they warned all foreigners to leave south korea.

>> translator: we urge all foreign nationals at institutes and companies, including tourists, to take evacuation measures out of seoul and south korea for their own safety. >> defense officials in seoul are worried this could be more than just talk. they say on wednesday the north korean military may launch a missile. >> translator: we could say that the north koreans are expected to fire a missile tomorrow, although the schedule could change. >> the north korean military has reportedly moved a midrange ballistic missile to the east coast. kim said it's not known whether they have notified international bodies of any launch plans. north korean officials have already warned foreign diplomats in their capital pyongyang that their safety could not be guaranteed in the event of a conflict. officials from japan's defense ministry are preparing to counter the possible missile launch.

the self-defense force has deployed interceptor missiles at its headquarters in tokyo. the move follows an order by the government to destroy falling debris. the self-defense forces has stationed three surface-to-air missile launchers at the ministry's complex. it has also deployed the units at its other bases. ministry officials would not disclose details of the planning for security reasons. the maritime self-defense force has dispatched two aegis destroyers to the sea of japan. the ships are equipped with an advanced radar system that can track missiles. they also carry sm-3 interceptor missiles. operations have come to a standstill at a facility. once regarded as a symbol of cooperation between south korea and north korea. north korean officials warn that they would pull all staff from esong industrial complex. it appears they are true to their word. more than 50,000 people have not turned up for work. the industrial park began operations nine years ago.

this is the first time it's been shut down. last week the north koreans began refusing entry to workers from the south. now employees from the north aren't there, either. officials in pyongyang say the closure may be permanent. >> closing it would be regrettable given that more than 50,000 north korean people are employed there, and it would not help them achieve their state of desire to improve their economy and better the lives of their people. south korean president park geun-hye have criticized them for pulling their workers out. >> translator: if north korea is going to do things like stop operations at the kaesong complex and disregard international rules and agreements, then no country or company in the world will invest in them. >> park urged the leadership of the north to reopen the facility for the sake of the korean people. representatives of small and medium size south korean

companies operating in kaesong met to discuss what to do. they want the government to send a business delegation to north korea to discuss the matter. they said all measures should be taken to return to normal operations. workers at fukushima daiichi have found another leak in a pool storing contaminated water. it's the third pool at the nuclear plant with the same problem. engineers for tokyo electric power company found a leak last week in the number two pool. they began transferring water from there to pool number one and then they found that two was leaking. >> number one of -- >> translator: both pools are unusable. we have to find another location on-site to store the contaminated water. >> workers built seven pools and the site has about 1,000 water tanks. >> the tanks and pools store about 300,000 tons of contaminated water but water is seeping in, adding 400 tons of water every day and new

challenges for the workers. more from nhk world's susumu kojima. >> this plant has sprung leaks, tons of them. water is seeping in from underground through walls damaged by the earthquake and tsunami. once inside, it's contaminated, so workers are performing a seemingly endless task, removing the water to temporary storage tanks and underground pools. >> translator: there have been leaks since the state of cold shutdown was achieved but the recent case is probably the largest ever. investigators suspect the design and construction of storage facilities. each pool is six meters deep,

three layers of water proceeds cover the sides and bottom. crews poked a hole so they could insert a sensor to monitor any leakage. spokesperson says the holes themselves became the problem. the water pressure pulls it down and widened the holes around the water. the trade and industry minister urged tepco's president to fix the problem. >> translator: i would like you to make sure that contaminated water won't leak into the sea. >> reporter: the assurances from tepco have not come to residents. >> translator: the leaks should never have happened in the first place, regardless of whether or not the water has reached the ocean.

tepco should deal with the matter more seriously. >> reporter: crews face another challenge, too. they are running out of space. they've been filling up the seven pools and hundreds of tanks, but the tanks are nearly full and now the integrating of the pools is in question. so the people who run the plant are searching for somewhere to put water that just keeps on coming. susumu kojima, nhk world. iranian officials say that have boosted their nuclear capacity by opening a plan to produce uranium. they said they have activated a

plant to produce what is known as yellow cake. >> translator: no country in the world can prevent our nuclear development. which we have achieved with our own technology. >> the government says they can make more than 60 tonights of yellow cake a year. other countries have denounced their work, but iran saying they will use it for peaceful purposes. japanese trade officials are waiting for an endorsement from their closest ally to join the transpacific partnership free trade talks. government leaders say they're in the final stages of negotiations with their u.s. counterparts. >> translator: the negotiations

between japan and the united states are making decent progress. we are closer to reaching an agreement. >> negotiators from the countries involved are expected to meet in july for their next round of talks. motegi said they will do their best to be at the table. economic revitalization minister is in charge of the tpp file. he said the gap between the japanese and americans is gradually closing. japan needs the approval of all 11 countries involved in the discussions, four members have yet to sign off. the u.s., canada, australia, and new zealand. japan's top business leader has expressed hope to strengthen ties with mexico through his country's participation in the tpp. japan business federation chairman made the remark when he met the mexican president enrique pena nieto in tokyo. >> translator: mexico is a very important production setter and

consumer market for japanese companies. we, japanese businesses, hope to further strengthen the economic relations between japan and mexico through the tpp. >> he noted that mexico has concluded free trade agreements with more than 40 countries and regions and has access to their markets with 1 billion consumers. the mexican president called on japanese businesses to increase investment in his country and strengthen the bilateral strategic partnership. the asian development bank predicts that economic growth in the asia pacific region will pick up in 2013. but the bank also points to some factors that it says could threaten the region's economic stability. the edb forecasts that the economy in asia pacific will expand 6.6% this year. that's up 0.5 percentage point from last year, and the first

increase in the pace of growth in three years. the bank says the chinese economy will grow 8.2%. that's due to rising domestic demand and recovering exports. it also forecasts that domestic demand and trade in southeast asian countries will continue to grow. but adb economists note that monetary easing in industrialized countries could invite asset bubbles in this region and hurt its economic stability. >> we are actually giving a warning that they have to focus more not to have asset bubbles, rather than saying they already have asset bubbles. >> adb economists also cite other negative factors such as fiscal problems in the u.s., credit worries in europe, and territorial disputes in asia. china's inflation rate is showing signs of easing. consumer prices rose at a slower pace in march than in the previous month. officials at the national bureau of statistics say the consumer price index rose just over 2% in march from a year earlier.

it was the first time in two months the index stayed in the 2% range. consumer prices in february surged more than 3% due to higher demand for food items during the chinese new year holidays. meanwhile, the producer price index fell. prices of goods shipped by manufacturers in march fell nearly 2% year on year. but government officials remain cautious over price trends, citing china's economic recovery and bold monetary easing measures by advanced economies. an international recording industry group says the sales of music cds, dvds and downloads in japan were the biggest in the world last year. the international federation of the photographic industry says the sales in japan came to nearly $4.3 billion. that's 160 million dollars more than in the previous year. the united states came in second with about $4.1 billion. the increase in japan is attributed mainly to strong sales of cds of pop groups and

veteran artists. cds and dvds accounted for more than 80% of the country's total recorded music sales. a flat rate system was introduced last year to boost the shrinking download business. here are the latest market figures.

in some parts of china, a leader is being looked at as a god-like leader. they feel the economy was better under mao. they formed a consult-like following. they don't have much money. the income gap is wider than ever. facing hard times. he inspired hope. mao, founding father of the nation. this memorial was built four years ago. the effort of a small village to

honor mao's achievements. it cost them $32,000 for a statute. >> translator: we built the statute to honor the legacy of chairman mao. china ease economic boom has passed their people by. they are disappointed by their leaders. they say there was little wealth in mao's time but it was spread equally. in this town, people attend a weekly workshop.

>> reporter: they sing songs in praise of the former leader. today's reading are a battle cry against corrupt bureaucrats. >> translator: sweep out corruption rigorously. >> the workshop started three years ago. just three people attended the first one. there are 80 here today, and they're believers.

speakers expressed disfaction with the current leadership. >> wechb sold all of our land, but we're still poor. secretary general should learn from how chairman mao governed the country. >> the frustration is growing in impoverished regions. nhk world, china. similar movements honoring mao have been springing up in other inland areas. many chinese still seem positive about their leadership, their putting priority on improving

the lives of poor people to avoid turning they hopes into frustration. china's rise brought it wealth, problems, pollution threatens their health, and disputed seas strain relations with neighbors. along the shores of northern australia, salt water crocodiles make their home. many tourist come to see this species. some grow as big as 7 meters. they took measured to protect the salt water croc, but however, their numbers have again swelled, and occasionally they attack people. nhk has more.

>> reporter: areas around darwin are the favorite has been date of crocodiles. they're an indispensable resource for tourists. >> we don't have anything like this in denmark, where i'm from. >> they're made into luxury goods at a shop, or on the menu at a restaurant. >> they call come in to try it, they try kangaroo and crocodile. >> salt water crocodile hields sell for high prices, and the animal was once hunted close to extinction in australia. in 1945, it's population was estimated at 150,000. 25 years later, just 4,000 crocs remain in the would. they decided to protect the

species and ban sport hunting. as a result, the population has recovered to between 80,000 and 100,000. but regional urbanization has brought about more chance encounters between people and wild crocodiles. in one instance, a 1.7 meter long crocodile decided to cool off in a municipal swimming pool. >> the kids climbed into the water, they looked down and realized that was a crocodile and not a lizard. everybody got out of the pool and we called the police. >> the local government created a tv message to caution residents. >> in the past five years, crocodiles have killed four people and injured 12 others in the northern territory.

a 7-year-old girl and 12-year-old boy were among the victims last year alone. >> they're concerned for normal citizens like myself here just walking down the beach. >> reporter: we accompanied some park rangers to see how they are protecting local residents. >> i'm on a both on the way to catch a crocodile. >> they catch them to control their population. tim has been in this line for work for the last 33 years. he lost two fingers on his left hand to the quick jaws of a salt water croc. >> i like crocodiles, there is something special about them, but they are dangerous. there will be another fatality and we try to keep it down as much as possible. >> rangers set traps in inlets

where crocodiles like to feed. once a week they check the traps. they say although they're fully aware of the danger, he feels the animal should not be hunted to the point of extinction again. >> they are certainly of value to landholders. they're worth so much money for tourism, crocodile farms, so we must have coexistence between the public and crocodiles. >> preservation efforts resulted in situations where crocodiles intrude into residential areas and present a danger to the public. local residents continue to search for the right balance to coexist in harmony with the salt water crocodile. another clear day in tokyo,

but there is a storm alert in the united states. robert speta is here with more. robert? >> yes, we're watching this developing sorm system. it will be a rather severe one. already bringing snowfall across eastern mod. you're expecting about 30 centimeters of snowfall. it's really not just blizzard conditions, you have all of that cold care coming in from the north, but also a surge of warm air from the south that is bringing in high due points, low level jet, and once that starts to collide, we'll see turbulence and see a very severe weather threat here. strong tornadoes in the forecast. northern texas, and also we're seeing some threat of rain off towards portions of iowa and wisconsin as well.

a very complex storm system. anybody with travel plans you need to watch out with this one. what is fuelling this is a difference in temperatures. look at denver. yesterday you were at 21. and you have to think about this, it's like opening a freezer, you feel that cold air hitting at your feet? it's pushing off towards the east, expected to develop down into the teens. washington dc on wednesday, you will be at 30 degrees. by the end of the week you'll also be down into the teens once that front pushes by and that old air spills in. not so much of a severe weather event going on here today, but

we're seeing the threat of yellow sand coming out of the gobe desert. it will be swishing to snow, but that will usher in northwesterly winds. that will kick up the sand wblg the dust, put it in the at most fear. anybody with respiratory issues around shanghai, you will have to watch out for this. japan, already seeing hazy conditions there in south korea. that will extend off towards the east. not too think, but you will see it in the atmosphere. it's one of those days, if you can, try to stay inside. you do have light rain showers kicking off here. temperatures remaining into the teens. 20 in taipei. now to europe, the main topic we have been talking about here for some time is this very winter like weather. it is absolutely chilly out

here. high pressure dominating much of the baltic states. the mediterranean, you are getting rain showers. the next one that i want to talk about, that's bringing rain showers across, but it's going to work across the east. so with that, some good news, temperatures warming up. london you will be in the double digits. but as that front pushes east, getting into the mid teens in kiev. here is your extended forecast.

that's "newsline" for this hour. i'm gene otani in tokyo.

from all of us here at nhk world, thank you for joining us. have a great day wherever you are. .